


Ocean Blue

by gummyrubi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Ace judai strikes again, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Hair Dye, M/M, and before it all went to shit later on in s3, i love johan with natural blue hair but, judai really loves johan's hair, sho and kenzan are tired let them sleep, sometime between the first meeting johan and judai had, they also share a bunk bed, they're at duel academia, what if he looked like the crystal protecter card
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 10:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14306967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gummyrubi/pseuds/gummyrubi
Summary: The one where Johan's actually a natural blonde and Judai helps him dye his hair once his roots start showing.





	Ocean Blue

“Your hair seems lighter.” Judai pointed out one morning as he and Johan were getting ready for class.

Johan slept over the night before—he and Judai shared a bunk while Kenzan and Sho snored away in the bunks above them—and he managed to wake Judai up early so they'd have plenty of time to get to class. Judai would've stayed sleeping if Johan hadn't kicked him off the bed so he could get out too.

Ruby Carbuncle and Hane Kuriboh were off playing tag with each other, sometimes visible and sometimes not, and their partners let them have their fun.

Johan shyly touched his hair, fingering the ends. “Does it? I haven't had time to redo it lately, what with all the dueling we've had on campus. Does it look bad?”

“Redo it? Like cutting it?”

“Like dyeing it.”

Judai dropped the shoe he was trying to put on. “Your hair isn't naturally blue?”

Johan laughed as he checked to make sure he had his phone on silent to make sure it wouldn't go off during class before slipping it into his pocket. “Nope. I'm actually a blonde.”

Judai got up close and personal with Johan, brown eyes squinting mere inches from Johan's face as he tried to see the blonde underneath. “Really?”

Johan didn’t mind the invasion of personal space and laughed. “Yes really, like bright blonde.”

“Wow,” Judai tried picturing Johan with bright blonde hair and he thought it probably looked great on him. Though he couldn't help but wonder that he'd seen someone like that before, but where? “So why blue?”

Johan shrugged, handing Judai his homework so he wouldn't forget it. Or purposely leave it behind like he did last week. “I like blue.”

“I like it too, I think it looks great on you.” Judai thought for a bit. “Is it hard to dye your hair?”

Johan had already started opening the door so they could leave in time for breakfast—past experience had shown that a fed Judai was more likely to stay awake in more classes—but he paused with his hand on the doorknob. He looked over his shoulder with a grin. “Wanna help me redo it next time?”

Judai double checked his deck and phone and walked with him. “Sure, when are you doing to do that?”

“When you can see my roots.”

“I wanna see you with blonde hair,” Judai’s voice carried in the wind as he and Johan raced down the stairs of the Red Dorm and walked to campus together.

Johan’s cheerful laugh could be heard following them. “I can show you some pictures if you want?”

Back at the dorm, Sho and Kenzan were staring at the closed door to their room.

“Unbelievable.” Sho grumbled, throwing his blanket off of himself and getting out of his bunk to get ready.

“I'm not used to seeing Judai up so early in the morning,” Kenzan commented, hopping off the top bunk.

Sho shook his head. “I don't even think they noticed they weren't the only ones in the room.”

Because it was true, Sho and Kenzan had been there the whole time since it was their room too and it was still too early for them to be in class. Kenzan had been impressed that Johan got Judai to wake up and stay awake this early. Sho didn't have anything to add to their conversation so they didn't seem to notice the other two dorm mates.

“Judai made a new friend, what's the harm?” Kenzan asked, putting on his backpack. There was a long day of testing ahead of them and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Sho gave up trying to cram all his notes in his backpack and just went with the essentials. “He never asked me if I have naturally blue hair.”

Brown eyes blinked in surprise. “You don't?”

“I do!”

Kenzan snorted a laugh and walked to the door. “Well then, that's why.”

Sho pouted. “Still.”

* * *

 

They made it to lunch and Judai spent all his lunch eating fried shrimp and staring at Johan's hair.

“You've been staring at Johan all of lunch, it's getting super creepy,” Manjyome spoke while he tried to stab Judai’s hand with his chopsticks when he got too close to stealing a shrimp.

Johan looked shy under the attention everyone suddenly gave him. “I think he's trying to see the blonde underneath.”

“Oh? You're a blonde?”

Johan nodded. “I've been dyeing my hair blue for so long I've gotten used to it but yeah, I've got bright blonde hair.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you remind them of a duel monster card?” Judai chimed in out of nowhere, causing Manjyome to choke on his drink.

“Please tell me that wasn't a pick up line.” He shuddered.

Johan laughed at Judai’s question, green eyes twinkling. “No but, wouldn't that be cool?”

“Oh god please don't tell me it _worked_ .” Manjyome pinched the bridge of his nose because now there were _two_ Judai’s and his sanity couldn't keep even up with one.

“Johan has the most beautiful blonde hair,” Judai told the table. “He showed me a picture.”

Sho rolled his eyes and just continued eating. Asuka cleared her throat because, _hello_ blonde sitting right there.

Johan chuckled sheepishly, raising a hand to card through his hair. “You're not gonna convince me to go back to blonde anytime soon.”

“Have you tried other colors? I bet all the colors work on you.”

“Are they flirting? I think they're flirting.” Manjyome asked the rest of the table because those two weren't listening to him.

“They might be,” Kenzan replied, looking thoughtful.

Asuka and Sho both looked at them with dropped jaws and hurriedly continued eating so they wouldn't have to say anything.

They spent the rest of lunch ignoring the two who had started talking duel strategies again because Judai was itching for a rematch despite having won both of the friendly matches last night.

* * *

 

“You beat me!” Judai jumped up. “You won!”

“It was a close match,” Johan acquiesced with a grin as he started to put away his deck. He and Judai played at least one match together every day now and Johan won almost a third of those matches.

“Ahhh that last move was so cool but I'll be ready for it next time!” Judai looked so happy and pumped that he lost. It was just the two of them in the room at the moment because Sho and Kenzan were out dueling some other students and wouldn't be back for a while.

Judai picked up his deck and shuffled it before putting it away and sitting in front of Johan who had done the same. He was spending the night again so he was already in his pajamas. Judai peered closely at Johan's hair. He could see a little bit of the bright blonde starting to peek through already; it had been a couple weeks since Judai first noticed it.

Johan looked fond, unbothered by having his friend’s eyes on him so much. “You really like my hair, huh?”

“I do.”

“Well what about yours, is the dual color natural?”

“Yup.”

“Lucky.”

Judai looked impatient to the point where Johan finally sighed in mock exasperation.

“Alright, let's go redye my hair.”

Judai cheered and followed him into the bathroom, eyeing the plastic bag Johan carried with him. They had thought about just doing it in their dorm room but Johan worried about possible blue stains that were really hard to get so they figured the bathroom would probably be the best place to do it.

“Ok it's pretty simple, just apply some to my roots and the rest of my hair evenly, we wait for about thirty minutes, and then I rinse it out and we're good to go.” Johan handed Judai a pair of latex gloves so he wouldn't stain his hands and he sat on the counter so he was face to face with Judai. They couldn’t find a chair to use and sitting on the ground would make things a little difficult for them so this was their best bet. It wasn’t all that much different from Johan doing it by himself just standing in front of a mirror and hoping for the best.

“If I don’t wear gloves, how bad will this stain my hands?”

“Pretty bad, it’ll take a couple days to come out completely. You’ll be part duelist, part blueberry.”

Judai looked like he was considering it for a second before Johan gave him a pointed look and Judai playfully stuck his tongue out at him as he put on the gloves.

Hane Kuriboh and Ruby Carbuncle had popped in a little while ago, curiously watching their duelists. Johan smiled at Ruby who chirped at him, already familiar with this process; she sat on the counter beside him for a moment before Kuriboh fluttered around Judai and chirped at Ruby to come play again. The two duelists watched how Kuriboh poked Ruby before she launched herself at him and they rolled off the counter, taking their game of tag through the door and leaving their partners behind.

“It’s so nice they get along so well.”

“It really is.”

Judai took out the bottle from the bag and turned it over in his hand until he could see the name of the color. “Ocean blue.”

Johan looked shy. “I experimented a bit with the shades until I found one I liked the best.”

Judai smiled sincerely at him. “I think it looks amazing on you.”

A faint red appeared on Johan’s cheeks as he averted his gaze because he was used to Judai complimenting his dueling but not complimenting him like this so much. He liked it, though. “Thanks, Judai.”

Judai looked hesitant when he opened the bottle, “How much of this do I use?”

Johan eyed it, “All of it. Just squeeze a whole bunch onto your hand, don’t be afraid.” He grinned cheekily at him as Johan made himself comfortable on the counter, hands holding onto the edge, and swung his legs back and forth until Judai stepped in front of him, standing between his now open legs.

Judai squeezed a lot of the dark blue dye into his hands, staring at it briefly before he put the bottle down to rub the dye between his hands. “It’s very dark.”

“Yeah, I was worried when I first tried this color but it turns out pretty light on my hair.”

Judai furrowed his brows as he focused on Johan’s roots, spreading around the dye until he couldn’t see any of the blonde. It took a while until he was satisfied, then it took more time as he started going through the rest of Johan’s hair, a repeating process of getting more and more dye, and gently combing his fingers and the product through it.

Johan stayed silent, content with letting Judai work the dye into his hair. He was pleasantly surprised to find how gentle Judai was; he didn’t think he wouldn’t be, just he thought Judai would be a little more playful while he was doing this.

Judai’s hands in his hair like this, standing between Johan’s legs, Johan’s head bent forward a little to make sure Judai would reach everything, Johan’s hand naturally finding its way onto Judai’s waist when the other moved him a bit too much and Johan didn’t want to fall—their position was compromising but comfortable.

“It smells good,” Judai broke the amiable silence as he flattened some of Johan’s hair down with the dye, then spiked up other ends. He giggled because Johan looked funny like that.

“Like candy, right?” Johan grinned. He remember a previous dye he used to use that smelled like mint which was nice too but this one was sweet and sugary and it relaxed him.

“Yeah, sweet.” Judai stepped back from Johan to look into big green eyes. “It’s very fitting.” He stepped back where he was, checking over this way and that, moving Johan’s head so he could see if he covered everything.

Johan chuckled in order to avoid a blush. “Judai.”

Judai admired his handy work with a determined nod. “I like this new look on you.”

Johan glanced back at the mirror behind him and snorted at the way Judai had messed with his hair.

“Now what?”

“Now we wait half an hour.” Johan watched Judai throw out the gloves and the empty bottle as Johan hopped off the counter. “Wanna duel in the meantime?”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

So they went back to Judai’s room where Sho and Kenzan were nowhere to be found but a quick glance at Judai’s phone showed Sho and Kenzan were in a tutoring lesson and would be back in about an hour.

It took them a few minutes to set up because they both bought some new packs and wanted to see what they could incorporate into their decks but eventually they dueled and Judai came out the winner.

“That was such a good game,” Judai rolled around on the ground as Johan started putting his cards away. “We should duel again.” He sat up, brown eyes looking at him eagerly.

“Before that, I have to go rinse this out.” Johan grabbed a towel from Judai’s bed and went off to shower. Judai nearly followed him but instead he pouted and picked up his cards. It was getting late and Sho and Kenzan would return soon—they’d complain about trying to sleep if Judai and Johan stayed up till three in the morning dueling. Again.

About ten minutes later Johan returned, finishing drying his hair with a towel that luckily only had a couple blue stains. He had a big grin on his face. “How does it look?”

Judai rushed over to him. “Can I touch it?”

“Yeah.”

So Judai did, gently threading his fingers through the recently dyed blue hair that still smelled softly sweet. It was just as vibrant and blue as it was the first time Judai saw Johan on the rooftop; it was the same blue that stood out from the sunset at the end of that day after their very first match. “Perfect.”

Green eyes looked fond. “Thanks for helping me dye my hair, Judai.”

“Anytime.” He stepped closer to him, both hands lowering from Johan’s hair to cupping his cheeks instead. Johan dropped the towel which stayed on his shoulders and slowly put his hands on Judai’s waist. They smiled as they got closer to each other, unafraid in being affectionate with each other. This felt so natural to them.

The door opened suddenly, revealing a very tired Sho and Kenzan who froze when they saw the two standing in the middle of the room, holding each other close.

“Unbelievable,” Sho grumbled again, rolling his eyes as he walked into the room.

Kenzan laughed but followed after him, watching as Judai and Johan slowly stepped away from each other but didn’t lose their soft expressions.

Sho and Kenzan got ready for bed while the other two talked a bit more.

“You’re spending the night, right?”

“I don’t know.” Johan thought for a bit, “I should be going back to my own dorm at some point.”

“Or, you could stay?”

Johan couldn’t help but laugh, even after Kenzan and Sho returned to the room, all ready for bed. “Oh, alright, but I’ll have to go back eventually.”

“Maybe, but not tonight.” Judai’s grin was infectious.

Ruby Carbuncle and Hane Kuriboh were sleeping, curled around each other at the foot of Judai’s bunk, tired from a long day of playing together. Johan wished he could take a picture of them to show their friends how cute their duel monster spirits were. The spirits faded away moments later after Johan whispered a soft, “goodnight you two.”

They all climbed into the beds and settled in for the night shortly after. Kenzan rolled a bit too far to the side and nearly fell over, scaring Sho in the bunk under him. Johan and Judai had to stay close so that Judai wouldn’t fall off the edge and they so could both fit into this bunk. Johan had once suggested that Judai stay over in his dorm, but Judai had told him he didn’t want to leave the Red that was a part of him and Johan completely understood that.

Johan made sure his hair was totally dry before he laid down on his pillow, just so that he wouldn’t leave any blue stains. He and Judai laid on their sides facing each other, smiling even after the lights turned off and they couldn’t see each other very well.

Johan closed his eyes, bringing a hand near his pillow as his breathing started to slow.

Kenzan sniffed loudly at the air. “Wait why does it smell so sweet in here?”

Johan and Judai giggled but didn’t respond. Sho groaned in the bunk right above them, already too tired for this.

In the dark, Judai’s hand bumped into Johan’s and instead of withdrawing it, he settled it on top of Johan’s, their fingers interlocking, and squeezed it gently.

Johan sighed in content and squeezed it back.

Judai’s eyes were still open, despite the dark they couldn’t help but be drawn to the boy with the ocean blue hair that stole his attention from the moment he’d set foot in Duel Academia.

Eventually Johan’s breathing evened out and Judai’s eyes started to close but just before he let Sleep drag him away, he squeezed Johan’s hand again.

He found him—someone probably like a soulmate to him, if not exactly that—and he wasn’t ever going to let him go.

**Author's Note:**

> So I currently have blue hair with three different blue dyes in it (voodoo blue, extreme blue, ocean blue) and like, the other day on [twitter](https://twitter.com/gummyrubi/status/981226952680861696) I thought like, what if Johan looked just like the Crystal Protector (because he does), even down to the blonde hair? And then I wrote this lmao  
> And ocean blue is such a pretty color (and pretty close to what Johan's color looks like tbh) so I used that in here :D  
> Come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/gummyrubi) and [tumblr](https://chocomonki.tumblr.com) to talk spiritshipping with me!


End file.
